Sikhs against female foeticide

A convention of World Sikh Heritage at Punjab's religious town of Fatehgarh Sahib Sunday adopted a resolution calling upon all Sikhs to shun the practice of female foeticide and consumption of drugs.

The convention was organised by Damdami Taksal, a separatist Sikh religious sect that was once headed by late Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

Thousands of Sikhs from across Punjab and other states and a few hundred from the US, Britain and other countries attended the convention.

The resolution against female foeticide pointed out that the "evil practice" had become common even among Sikhs though it was forbidden in the Sikh faith.

The call against female foeticide came a day after the state government announced that the sex ratio had improved in the last five years.

The government claimed that in the age group of zero to six years, the number of girls had gone up to 817 to 1,000 males compared to a low sex ratio of 798 girls per 1,000 males recorded in the 2001 census.

Punjab has one of the lowest sex ratios in the country with three of its 17 districts being at the bottom among all 600 districts in India.

The convention also demanded that India and Pakistan should further improve ties so that people from both countries could move in a visa-free regime.

Shiromani Akali Dal leaders and the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee - the "mini parliament" of Sikhs that manages Sikh shrines across Punjab - came in for criticism at the convention.